dyton mupawaenda
Collin Matiza-Sports Editor
THE future of sport in Southern Africa is set for a major revitalisation after the African Union Sports Council Region 5 defined a theory of change during its recently held strategic plan review forum.
The forum was held in Livingstone, Zambia, from September 27 to 29.
A total of 70 delegates drawn from a cross section of Region 5 stakeholders from Africa and beyond gathered in Livingstone for a three-day indaba to reflect on the performance of the 2018-2028 Strategic Plan with the view to accelerating attainment of set goals.
The mid-term review was conducted in the wake of significant emerging issues that have had a bearing on sport globally, key among them being the Covid-19 pandemic.
The forum was officially opened by the Minister of Southern Province of Zambia, Credo Nanjuwa, who was joined in attendance by the Livingstone City Mayor, Constance Muleabai, and the Livingstone District Commissioner, Eunice Nawa.
The review forum considered progress made in the implementation of all seven strategic priorities of the 2018–2028 Strategic Plan.
Region 5 identified capacity building, sports development, sports for development and peace, building a case for sport, finance, marketing and communication and organisational effectiveness as its seven key focus areas in formulating its strategic plan in 2018.
While presenting a dashboard of the performance of the strategic plan in each of these seven key focus areas, the Region 5 CEO, Stanley Mutoya of Zimbabwe, reported that 61% of the strategic goals had been attained overally at the mid-point of the strategic plan period, with 29% of the goals still being work in progress.
He reported that 10 percent of the targeted overall goals had not been attained by 2023.
The dashboard further showed that 66 percent of the Capacity Building goals had been attained with 24 percent being work in progress and 10 percent of the goals having been missed. On sports development priority, 47 percent of the goals had been attained with 47 percent being work in progress and six percent of the goals having not been attained.
“This was largely because of the two years of 2020 and 2021 when sport was not being played due to the Covid-19-induced lockdowns,” Mutoya explained.
Mutoya reported that 63 percent of the goals under sports for development and peace focus area had been attained with 33 percent being work in progress while four percent could not be attained during the period under review. The Region attained 30 percent of the targeted goals under building a case for sport with 35 percent still being work in progress.
It was reported that 35 percent of the targeted strategic goals had not been achieved under this priority area during the period under review.
“This is one of the areas that we did not do well during the period under review. One of the key strategic goals was that of ensuring that by 2028 sport occupies the top six budget priority at national level and indeed we are still far from achieving this strategic goal,” Mutoya explained.
Under finance focus area, the Region attained 63% of the goals with 25% being work in progress.
The dashboard showed that 12% of the targeted goals could not be attained.
“One of the goals which could not be attained was that of ensuring 50% of the Region 5 revenue would be generated form commercial activities by 2028,” Mutoya added.
At the moment, 31% of the Region 5 revenue is being derived from commercial activities.
The dashboard further showed that 64% of the Marketing and Communications goals were attained with 18% still being work in progress and a further 18% of the goals not having been achieved at the mid-point of the Strategic Plan period.
The dashboard, however, reported that all organisational effectiveness goals targeted for the period under had been attained. This focus area includes governance, risk management and service delivery priority areas, which explains why Region 5 credibility and acclaim as a leading sports Region in Africa and the world has grown over the year.
The dashboard showed that by the mid-point of the strategic plan period, the Region had performed respectably well, having attained more that 50% of the targeted goals.
This was commended by the participants considering that two of the five years during the review period had been eroded by the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in all sporting activities being suspended globally.
The Region remained functioning using creative digital platforms that kept the pulse of sport active despite the setback.
As part of the review of the strategic plan, the Region 5 designed a theory of change to breathe impetus to the pace and trajectory of its execution of the plan for the remaining part of the strategic period. Through the theory of change, the Region 5 (Member Countries) realised that it is presently faced with poor coordination of sports structures, systems and programmes, resulting in inadequate funding from key actors and inconsistent performance across the broad spectrum of sport.
The theory therefore identified the need for a structured, coordinated, inclusive and harmonised sports ecosystem by 2028, that would attract adequate funding support from public and private sector and ultimately leading to healthier, active and inclusive communities across the Region. In addition, the structured, coordinated, inclusive and harmonised sports ecosystem will ensure good governance, productive human resource, safe, fair and inclusive sport and recreation, resulting in a more sustainable and productive sport sector that ceases to be a consumptive industry but transforms into a viable productive and agile industry that directly contributes towards national development and Gross Domestic Product.
The theory of change was defined under the acronym HEART28.
The theory is designed to focus the Region towards addressing its goals and objectives towards Heritage matters (including culture, legacy, identity and resilience of sport in the Region); Excellence which is depicted through clearly defined Talent Identification, Podium Performance, Capacity enhancement, Innovation, Games and events, Research and data management systems; Agility which would be depicted through quality physical education in schools, physical activity in communities, intensified promotion of mass sport, recreation and leisure; Resources –which will be in the form of human capital knowledge, sustainable funding, enterprise investment, internationally accredited infrastructure and equipment as well as an enabling legislative and regulatory framework including Transformation –which would place heightened emphasis on inclusion, social change, national pride/patriotism, entrepreneurship, harmonisation and alignment of structures, policies and agendas.
The above factors to be attained by 2028, are the ones producing the acronym HEART28 as a theory of change model.
In designing the HEART28 strategy of change model, Region 5 took into consideration the need for alignment with global and continental agendas such as the UNESCO Fit for Life concept, seven Moonshots of the second decade of the African Union Agenda 2063 as well as the five pillars of the African Union Policy for Sustainable Development of Sport in Africa.
In order to get the HEART28 strategy to function, key inputs (referred to as the nutrients and oxygen pumped by the HEART) were identified.
These nutrients to the strategy include funding; equipment; facilities; incentives/recognition; competitions/events; training and skills enhancement and stakeholder relationship framework that would clearly define the roles of government, sports commissions, Olympic committees and national federations among some of the ley actors in the sports ecosystem.
The inputs were regarded as fundamental for the successful implementation of the theory of change.
The reviewed strategic plan is now being finalised for it to be tabled for approval by the Region 5 Board of Advisors scheduled to meet in Malawi in November 2023. Thereafter, the strategic plan will be tabled for ratification by Council of Ministers on December 14 and 15 December, 2023, in Malawi.
The strategic pan review forum, which was facilitated by South African Professor Paul Singh, was deemed successful.
Key actors in the sports industry took part in the forum, key among them being the German International Development Agency (GIZ), Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA), De Beers Group of Companies, Physical Education Institute and Sports Association (PEISA), Special Olympics Africa, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), International Olympic Committee (IOC), Commonwealth games federation (CGF), Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) Zone VI, The Association of International Sports for All (TAFISA), regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO), African Union Sports Council (Headquarters in Yaoundé), UNESCO and Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sport (NIF).
These were joined by Directors of Sport in the 10 Member Countries, CEOs and Chairpersons of Sports Commissions/Councils.
The African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 is one of the five Regions entrusted with the responsibility to develop sport under the African Union.
This follows the dissolution of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA), under which the Region 5 was known as SCSA Zone VI.
Members of the Region comprise of: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The AUSC Region 5 is the continent’s most organized Region and a trailblazer in implementing sports programmes and activities.
Among the top programmes that the Region runs are the Region 5 Under-20 Youth Games held every two years (2026 Games scheduled for Luanda, Angola, from December 9–18), Sport Education and Accreditation Systems (SEAS), Museum, Regional Marathon, Regional Awards, Medals of Honour, Confederations Assistance Programme as well as Women in Sport and Sport for People with Disabilities programmes.
Online Reporter